Born in April 1989 C C J Ellis grew up surrounded by the spectacular landscapes of North Wales, UK. Their work is often inspired by fantasy and mythology, drawing inspiration from ancient cultures and a variety of countries.
‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R.Tolkien a favourite books as a child and they later fell in love with the artwork involved in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies and the work of Japanese film director Hayao Miyazaki.
Ellis attended Glyndwr University in Wrexham and achieved a Masters in Design Communication: during which, they travelled to China after being awarded a grant by the Welsh Livery Guild; to investigate dragon legends in both countries. In 2017 they were lucky to receive another grant from the Welsh Government to return to China to gather even more information for a future art book on the subject of Dragons.
Ellis has exhibited at various conventions across the UK; including London, Manchester and Cardiff Comic Cons. In October 2016 Ellis opened their third solo exhibition in the Oriel Yuys Mon on Anglesey and has launched three successful Kickstarters, one of which explored the monsters and mythical beasts of her home country of Wales and sold over 1,000 first edition copies in its first year.
Over the years Ellis has worked on numerous publications for authors and album covers for musicians. They have also worked for ‘The Knight Shop’ suppliers of Disney and Game of Thrones and for the British Heritage Societies, producing decorative parts for swords and armour.
In the past Ellis has been featured in several online blogs and magazines, including Imagine FX Magazine, Y Lle’ on Welsh TV channel S4C, has taken part in a one to one Podcast with 'Pencil Kings' and has appeared on the BBC 'Wales Today' Show.
In their spare time Ellis is an active member of her local HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) group, they also have a passion for herpetology keeping a number of exotic reptiles.